01319nas a2200205   4500000000100000008004100001260002300042653001900065653002000084653001700104653001600121100001300137700001200150700001600162245006300178300000800241490000800249520084200257022001401099       2017                            d  bScientific Scholar10aPublic health 10aLeprosy Control10aRedefinition10aElimination1 aMedley G1 aCrump R1 aLockwood DJ00aInterpreting data in policy & control: The case of leprosy  a1-30 v1453 a<p>Leprosy is an ancient disease, and the WHO target of elimination by the year 2000 in 1991 was perhaps ambitious [1]. This ambition was mitigated by a redefinition of elimination to 'elimination as a public health problem', which means, in reality, the reduction of disease to very low levels. The formal definition of control (reduction of disease incidence, prevalence, morbidity or mortality to a locally acceptable level as a result of deliberate efforts, and continued intervention measures are required to maintain the reduction [2]) recognizes that intervention programmes must be kept going [2],[3],[4]. The redefinition of 'control' to 'elimination as a public health problem' was presumably to develop a political impetus to a defined endpoint; and political impetus is essential for any concerted public health action.</p>
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